Chapter II: Fróðaþáttr (2)

In Saxo's _Gesta Danorum_, the story about Hroar and Helgi is told twice. It is first told in the second book, where we find the version with which is connected the story about Hrolf Kraki, Yrsa, Athils, and Ingjald and his son Agnar, whom Bjarki slew; it is told a second time in the seventh book, where Hroar and Helgi are called Harald and Halfdan, and where the story about them is another version of the same story that we have in the _Hrólfssaga_. Not only do Hroar and Helgi appear (disguised under different names), but Frothi and Ingjald again appear.

A comparison of the line of Danish kings as Saxo has it, with the line of the same kings in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_,[164] shows that the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has the story about Hroar and Helgi just where Saxo's second story about them (i.e., in his seventh book) puts in its appearance. These lines of kings are as follows:--

SAXO: SKJ[O.]LDUNGASAGA:

Humblus I
Dan I
Humblus II
Lotherus
Scioldus Scioldus
Gram
Swibdagerus
Guthormus
Hadingus
Frotho I
Haldanus, Roe, Scatus
Roe, Helgo
Roluo Krage
Hiartwarus
Hotherus
Balderus
Roricus
Vigletus
Wermundus
Uffo
Dan II
Hugletus
Frotho II
Dan III
Fridleus I Fridleifus I[165]
Frotho III[166] Frotho I[166]
Herleifus
Havardus
Leifus
Herleifus[167]
Hunleifus[167]
Aleifus[167]
Oddleifus[167]
Geirleifus[167]
Gunnleifus[167]
Frotho II
Vermundus
Dan I
Dan II[168]
Hiarnus[169] Frotho III
Fridleus II[170] Fridleifus II
Frotho IV Frotho IV
Ingellus Ingjaldus, Halfdanus
Olauus[171]
Frotho V, Haraldus[172] Agnerus, Roericus, Roas or Roe, Helgo
Haraldus,[173] Haldanus,[174] Frotho (V)[175] Rolpho Krag

A comparison of the two lines of kings shows that, beginning with the first Fridleus in Saxo's account and the first Fridleifus in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga's_ account, there are important correspondences. Fridleus I (Saxo) = Fridleifus I (_Skjs._). Frotho III, son of Fridleus I (Saxo) = Frotho I, son of Fridleifus I (_Skjs._). Fridleus II, son of Frotho III (Saxo) = Fridleifus II, son of Frotho III (_Skjs._). Frotho IV (Saxo) = Frotho IV (_Skjs._); and in both sources Frotho IV is the Danish king in whose career Swerting plays such a prominent part. By omitting all of Saxo's kings between Scioldus and Fridleifus I, among whom are also the Hroar-Helgi group, the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has avoided the difficulty of having to deal with Hroar, Helgi, and Hrolf Kraki where they first occur in Saxo's history.

The paralleling of the two lines of kings also furnishes the key to the explanation of how the different names and a different setting for the Hroar-Helgi story, from those found in other versions, got into Saxo's version. Since the Hroar-Helgi story appears in the same place in his line of kings as in that of the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, he must also have known the names that really belonged to the story. But he had told the story about Halfdan, Hroar, Helgi, and Hrolf Kraki (in its second stage of development, see p. 66) once before, and therefore could not consistently tell a different story about the same men. The story was, however, in existence and was too good to be discarded, so he retained it, but disguised it by making arbitrary changes. This explains the loss, which otherwise would be very strange, of such well known names as Hroar, Helgi, and Hrolf Kraki. The only incentive any one could have to change the names would be just that which Saxo had, namely that he had used them before in another connection. He retained the name Frothi, which appears so often in the Danish line of kings that its reappearance would cause no difficulty; and his retention of Frothi as the slayer of his brother is additional evidence that to him, not to Ingjald, was this unenviable rôle first assigned. Ingjald, whom he has in his story about Hrolf Kraki, he also retained, but in a different relationship from that in his second book. It will be observed that Saxo merely shifted the name Halfdan from father to son, and that Harald, almost a conventional name, he employed twice. Finally, he introduced a strange person, Olaf, about whom, he says, nothing, practically, was known.

But since Saxo has the Hroar-Helgi story substantially as it is in the _Hrólfssaga_, except for the changed names, the author of the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, or its source, whose version of the story occurs in the same place in the line of Danish kings as Saxo's, must also have known the story in the same version. This we shall find was actually the case, and that the story as it appears in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ is an attempt at reconciling conflicting elements in ancient tradition.

As already stated, according to the _Grottas[o.]ngr_ (from about 950), Frothi is the brother of Halfdan and slays him. But according to an equally old tradition, the story on which the Ingjald lay in Saxo's sixth book is based, Frothi is Ingjald's father and is himself slain. The events that gave rise to this lay are also narrated in Saxo's sixth book and are as follows.

In Saxony were two kings, both of whom paid tribute to Frothi. They planned to throw off the foreign yoke. Hanef made the attempt first, but Frothi defeated and slew him. Swerting made the attempt later and slew Frothi, but met his own death at the same time. Swerting's sons, fearing that Ingjald would avenge his father's death, gave him their sister in marriage. Thus a reconciliation was effected, and Ingjald thenceforth devoted himself to pleasure. Starkad, the famous warrior, who was in Sweden, had been one of Frothi's men and had later been Ingjald's foster-father. When Starkad learned that Ingjald, instead of seeking revenge, had made friends with his enemies and had taken Swerting's daughter to wife and with her was leading a life of luxury, the old warrior hastened back to Denmark. When Starkad returned, Ingjald's wife, not knowing him on account of his shabby appearance, insulted him. Ingjald was away on a hunt at the time; but when he returned, he recognized Starkad and told his wife who the old man was. In the evening Ingjald sat down to a luxurious meal with Swerting's sons; and his wife did all she could to appease Starkad, who was also present. But Starkad could not forget the insult he had suffered, and became more and more angry with the effeminate way of living that Ingjald and his wife had introduced from Germany. In burning words, which are reproduced in the Ingjald lay, he condemned Ingjald's neglect of duty, his luxurious mode of life, and his living in friendship with those on whom he should have avenged his father's death. Ingjald was finally aroused, and he drew his sword and killed all of Swerting's sons. In regard to his future relation to his wife Saxo says nothing; but as Starkad advised him to drive the impudent woman (as he called her) from the land, the presumption is that Ingjald did so.

The Ingjald lay has its roots in _Beowulf_. Its relationship to the corresponding episode in the Anglo-Saxon poem is explained in the following by Olrik:--

"Kun et eneste af Starkad-digtningens mange optrin kan fölges til
ældre kilde end de nordiske. Det er den scene, hvor den gamle
kriger opægger Ingjald til hævn og dermed afbryder forsoningen
imellem de to fjendtlige slægter. I _Béowulf_ findes dette optrin
for förste gang, ganske afvigende i den politiske stilling, men med
kendeligt slægtskab i det digterske indhold.

"Digtet fortæller on det forsög der blev gjort på at stille den
lange fejde, der var fört mellem Danernes folk og Hadbardernes, af
Halvdan og Hrodgar imod Frode og Ingeld. Forsoningen skulde
frembringes ved bryllup mellem Ingeld og Hrodgars datter Freyvar
(Fréaware). 'Hun blev lovet, ung og guldsmykt, til Frodes hulde
sön; det bar tyktes Skjoldungers ven så, rigets vogter (i.e.,
Hrodgar) har fundet det rådeligt, at ved den viv skulde tvisten og
dödsfejden stilles. Ofte, ej sjælden, hviler dog dödsspyddet kun
föje tid efter mandefald, hvor gæv så bruden er. Da må det mistykke
Hadbardernes drot og hver thegn af det folk, når ban går med
jomfruen i hallen, at en hirdsvend af Danerne skænked for skaren;
ti på ham stråler fædrenes eje, hårdt og ringlagt, Hadbardernes
klenodier, sålænge de ejede de våben (indtil de misted i
skjoldelegen de kære fæller og deres eget liv). Da mæler ved öllet
en gammel spydkæmpe, der ser skatten, og mindes al mændenes
undergang; grum er hans hu. Fuld af harm begynder ban at friste en
ung kæmpes hu med hvad der bor i hans bryst: "Kender du, min ven,
denne klinge, som din fader bar til sværdstævnet sidste gang--dette
kostelige jærn--dengang Danerne slog ham; de beholdt valpladsen, de
raske Skjoldunger; siden kom der aldrig oprejsning efter kæmpernes
fald. Nu går her afkom af de banemænd her i hallen, pralende af
skattene, bryster sig af drabet, bærer det klenodie som du med ret
skulde eje!"--Således maner og minder han atter og atter med
sårende ord, indtil den stund kommer, at jomfruens svend segner
blodig ned for klingens bid, skilt ved livet for sin faders dåd;
men den anden (i.e., drabsmanden) undflyr levende, han kender vel
landet. Da brydes fra begge sider ædlingernes edspagt; i Ingeld
koger dödshadet, men kærligheden til hans viv kölnes efter den
harm. Derfor kalder jeg ikke Hadbardernes trofasthed, deres del i
folkefreden, svigelös mod Danerne, deres venskab ikke fast.'[176]

"Trods den antydende stil i digtets fremstilling, således som den
lægges helten Beovulf i munden, er handlingens sammenhæng
nogenlunde tydelig. Der bar været gammel fejde mellem Daner og
Hadbarder; hvis man kan tro betydningen af et ikke helt sikkert
ord, er også Hadbardernes konge (Frode) falden i striden. Ingeld,
Frodes sön, slutter fred med Danernes konge Hrodgar og holder
bryllup med hans datter. Under selve bryllupet blusser kampen op,
idet en af brudesvendene bliver dræbt af en af Hadbarderne, som en
gammel kæmpe bar ægget op til at hævne sin faders död. Bryllupet
(og drabet) foregår--efter digtets fremstilling--snarest i
Hadbardernes kongehal; ti det hedder, at drabsmanden undslap fordi
ban kendte landet. Ingelds rolle er indskrasnket til at hans
kærlighed til kongedatteren 'kölnes'; at hun er bleven forskudt
eller selv er vendt hjem, fremgår deraf, at hun i digtet går i den
danske kongehal som ugift og skænker for kæmperne.

"Kampen nævnes en gang til, i _Béowulfs_ begyndelse, dær hvor det
hedder on den danske kongehal Hjort: 'den opleved fjendske
ildbölger, hærjende lue; det var ikke længe efter at kamphadet
vågned efter [gammelt] dödsfjendskab mellem svigersön og
svigerfader.'[177] Disse ord--der næppe stammer fra den egenlige
Béowulfdigter--indeholder en afvigende fremstilling: bryllupskampen
står i den danske kongehal, og synes at være opfattet som större og
voldsommere end en enkelt mands mord og hans banemands undslipning.
At sagnet vakler med hensyn til stedet, er ikke så underligt.
Historiske forhold viser, at bryllup snart er holdt i
svigersönnens, snart i svigerfaderens hjem.

"Også Wîdsîð-kvadet taler on en kamp 'i Hjort' (ät Heorote), hvor
Ingeld og hans Hadbarder skal have lidt et nederlag mod Hrodgar og
hans brodersön Hrodulf. Det er rimeligst, at også dette er
hentydning til det blodige bryllup, opfattet på lignende måde og
henlagt til samme skueplads som i den nysnævnte antydning.

* * * * *

"Handlingen foregår i Ingelds kongehal, og indholdet er at en
gammel kæmpe bevæger en ung til i selve hallen at dræbe sönnen af
sin faders banemand, herved blusser det gamle fjendskab mellem
folkene op, og Ingeld forskyder sin udenlandske hustru.

"Forskellen er den, at i _Béowulf_ er faderhævneren en fra Ingeld
forskellig person. Dette er sikkert det ældre, og Ingjaldskvadets
det yngre. Det gælder som en lov for episk udvikling, at man
arbejder sig hen imod det enklere; hvis to personer udförer
beslægtede handlinger, vil den ene af dem forsvinde; og i kraft af
digtningens midtpunktsögen, vil bifiguren gå ud af spillet, hans
rolle vil enten blive til intet eller overtages af hovedpersonen.
Digtningen har gjort et stort skridt frem i episk tætning, da
Ingeld blev både faderhævner og den der forsköd sin hustru; det
hele drama udspilles nu imellem den unge konge og den gamle
stridsmand.

* * * * *

"Episk er omdannelsen naturlig nok; nationalt er den meget
mærkeligere. Det er ikke så underligt, at den ældre form handler om
Daner og Hadbarder, den yngre om Daner og Sakser. Men det
overraskende er, at Hadbardernes parti göres til 'Daner' og de
tidligere Daner til 'Saksere'; den danske heltetradition er her
ganske vildfarende i, hvem der er folkets egne forfædre, og hvem
der er dets bitreste fjender. Dog også dette bliver episk
forklarligt. Bevidstheden om Hadbarderne, der engang havde fyldt
Danerne med rædsel, svandt efterhånden bort, fordi Östersöegnenes
hele ætniske stilling forandredes. Ikke en eneste gang er deres
navn overleveret i samtlige den nordiske literatur! Men hvor
synskres og navne glemmes, drages personer og optrin nærmere til.
Efter Vendernes indvandring til Östersökysten bliver alle dens
gamle sagnhelte opfattede som Danske: Anglernes Offa, Hadbardernes
Ingeld, Holmrygernes Hagena. Senere i tiden flytter også andre af
den gotiske verdens store sagnskikkelser nordpå: minder om
Hunnerslaget overföres på Danmarks sydgrænse (Dan, Fredfrode);
Volsunger, Nibelunger, Didrikskæmper--alle blev til en eller anden
tid gjorte til vore landsmænd, efter ganske samme nærhedslov,
hvormed Nordmændene gjorde danske kæmper som Starkad og Bjarke til
norske helte. I og for sig er der intet mærkeligere i, at Ingeld og
den opæggende gamle spydkæmpe göres til Daner. Som _Bjarkemål_ blev
udgangspunkt for ganske uhistoriske forestillinger on
Skjoldungætten, sker det også her--i endnu större målestok.
Ingjaldsk vadet bar bortkastet alt det historiske stof, undtagen
den gamle kæmpes harmtale, og det skaber en ny episk sammenhæng,
som det gennemförer paa glimrende måde.

"Nu forstaar vi Ingelds nationalitetsskifte. Det mærkelige er blot,
at de oprindelige Daner blev gjorte til Saksere. Men også, dette
fölger af den episke udvikling. Når den gamle kæmpe er det punkt
der tiltrækkes (fordi han er det poetiske tyngdepunkt), må hans
modparti frastödes og göres til Danefolkets fjender. Nogen
selvstændig betydning ejer denne part jo ikke.

"Udtalt i jævnere ord vil dette sige, at man i vikingetiden tog et
gammelt sagnstof og deri fandt udtryk for sin tids store oplevelse,
sammenstödet mellem Danmark og et mægtigt 'saksisk' rige.[178]

"Det eneste nye navn, vi möder, er betegnelsen 'Svertings sönner.'
I ældre digtning (_Béowulf_) er 'Svertings ætling' Geaternes konge;
men da bevidstheden on 'Geaterne' blegnede, er navnet vel sprunget
over og er knyttet til en kendt folkestamme, Sakserne. Grunden
dertil er muligvis kun, at det danner bogstavrim med Sakser, og at
det sproglig har en biklang af sort, i.e., ond og listig, der
gjorde det egnet til at bruges om Danernes fjender."[179]

The significance of this is, first, that in the Ingjald lay we are dealing with old material; secondly, that the account of the relationship in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ between Frothi and Swerting and their families is based on the Ingjald lay; thirdly, that when the nationality of Swerting and those associated with him is changed from Saxon to Swedish, it is merely another stage in the development of the story, quite in line with earlier changes made to keep the story in harmony with changing conditions.

Thus we have two stories, based on the same events (events first related in _Beowulf_ and _Widsith_), that come down to posterity by two independent lines of transmission and suffer changes in the course of time that bring them into absolute conflict with each other. According to both stories, Frothi has become a Danish king. But in the story connected with the Ingjald lay, Frothi is slain, and is avenged by his son, Ingjald; while in the _Hrólfssaga_, Frothi is his brother's slayer, on whom vengeance is taken by the sons (Hroar and Helgi) of his victim (Halfdan). In the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, the conflict is obviated. It is done very deftly and with only such disturbances of the genealogical relations involved as seemed necessary to secure the desired result. As a consequence, the changes that have been made, for which, in most instances, the reasons are quite apparent, can be traced step by step. The story as we have it in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ is, therefore, plainly an artificial amalgamation designed principally to harmonize conflicting stories about Frothi.

The genealogy in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ is as follows:--

Swerting Frothi Jorund
| | | |
| | | daughter
| | |__________________________________________|
| | |
daughter Ingjald Sigrith Halfdan
| | | | | |
|________| |_____________| |_________________________|
| | | | | |
| | | |[180] | |
Agnar Hrörik Frothi Eng. Lady Hroar Helgi Signy Sævil
| | | | |
|________| | |_____|
|
Hrolf Kraki

Below is the same genealogy with the portions enclosed that, on the one hand, are taken from the Ingjald lay (Frothi, Swerting, etc.) and, on the other, from the _Hrólfssaga_ (Halfdan, Sigrith, etc.). The names in italics are found in the _Hrólfssaga_, but, with the exception of Ögn, whose name is omitted altogether, are employed in another connection in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ (see the foregoing table):--

.-------------------.
¦Swerting Frothi ¦ Jorund
¦ | | | ¦ |
¦ | | | ¦ daughter
¦ | | |___¦______________________________________|
¦ | | ¦ |
¦ | | ¦ .--------------------------------------.
¦ | | ¦ ¦ | ¦
¦daughter Ingjald ¦ ¦Sigrith _Frothi_[181] Halfdan ¦
¦ | | | ¦ ¦ | | |____| | ¦
¦ |________| |__¦________¦_| |_________________________| ¦
¦ | | ¦ | ¦ | | | ¦
'-------------------' | ¦ | | | ¦
| | | ¦ | | | ¦
Agnar Hrörik Frothi ¦Eng. Lady Hroar Helgi Signy Sævil¦
¦ (_Ögn_) | | | | ¦
¦ |________| | |_____| ¦
¦ | | | ¦
¦ | | | ¦
¦ _Agnar_ Hrolf Kraki _Hrok_ ¦
'--------------------------------------'

It will be observed that the following changes have been made to produce the family relationship as we find it in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_. Frothi is removed as Halfdan's brother and becomes his father, a change suggested, probably, by the tradition related in Saxo's second book that Frothi was Halfdan's father, and facilitated by the fact that, in the _Hrólfssaga_, the father of Halfdan and Frothi is not mentioned, and, as a result, presents no impediment to the change. But to explain how Halfdan has become Frothi's son, a new relationship has to be invented, so Frothi is said to have the son Halfdan by the daughter of Jorund. According to the _Hrólfssaga_, Halfdan is slain by his brother. This idea, in the abstract, is retained. But, according to the new arrangement, Ingjald, Frothi's son, has become Halfdan's brother, i.e., half-brother; hence, Ingjald slays Halfdan. According to the _Hrólfssaga_, Halfdan's brother and slayer marries his widow, Sigrith.[182] This idea is also retained. In the _Hrólfssaga_, it is Frothi who slays his brother, Halfdan, and marries his widow, Sigrith. But, according to the new arrangement, Ingjald is Halfdan's brother and slayer; hence, it is now he who marries Sigrith. According to the _Hrólfssaga_, Agnar is Hroar's son; but this, apparently, is not according to current tradition. According to Saxo's second book, he is Ingjald's son and is slain by Bjarki. This conception of him occurs in the _Hrólfssaga_ also, but towards the close, where Bjarki, in recounting his own achievements, mentions his having slain Agnar. This Agnar is not Hroar's son, but the Agnar of the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ and of Saxo's second book. The _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, therefore, properly retains him as Ingjald's son and omits him as Hroar's son. Hrok and Hrörik are the same person. According to the _Hrólfssaga_, he is the son of Sævil and Signy. Olrik has about a page of comment on him,[183] in which he shows that he (Hrethric, Hrothgar's son, in _Beowulf_) was originally regarded as Hroar's son, but, for reasons that need not here be rehearsed, became a fluctuating character. The _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has made him the son of Ingjald. In the _Hrólfssaga_, Hroar is said to have married an English lady named Ögn. The _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ also says that Hroar married an English lady, but omits her name. Finally, Ingjald is given another son, Frothi. He corresponds to Frothi V in Saxo. In Saxo, however, Frothi is the slayer of his brother and corresponds to the Frothi who appears in the _Hrólfssaga_ as the slayer of Halfdan. As the Frothi who appears in the _Hrólfssaga_ becomes, in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, the father of Halfdan, and Ingjald becomes Halfdan's slayer, Frothi, Ingjald's son, is, as a consequence, assigned the rôle of joining his brother Hrörik in slaying his half-brother Hroar. Thus the idea of Frothi (corresponding to Frothi V in Saxo) as a fratricide is retained. But as Ingjald is succeeded on the throne by Halfdan's sons, Hroar and Helgi, there is no opportunity for Ingjald's son Frothi to become king. It will also be remembered that Frothi IV in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, who, like Frothi IV in Saxo, was slain by Swerting (or his sons), was himself a fratricide, having caused the death of his brother Ali. Frothi IV in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ corresponds to the Frothi mentioned in the _Hrólfssaga_. Thus, as a fratricide, Frothi IV in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ corresponds to the Frothi in the _Hrólfssaga_, and as the victim of Swerting, he corresponds to Frothi IV in Saxo; while the account of Frothi, Ingjald's son, as the slayer of his half-brother Hroar, preserves the idea that Frothi V (in Saxo) is his brother's slayer. The _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has, therefore, amply retained the idea of Frothi as a fratricide, and contains an account that, in a way, embraces the essential features of the treatment of the same period in the _Hrólfssaga_, on the one hand, and in Saxo, on the other. The relationship in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ of Frothi (Ingjald's father), Swerting, Ingjald, and Swerting's daughter is identical with that in the Ingjald lay.

Thus we see how, at the most conspicuous and interesting juncture of the Danish royal line, the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ harmonizes conflicting traditions.[184] This involves a train of consequences, among which are the following:--

1. "The short and chronicle-like form [i.e., of the Hroar-Helgi story] in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, where the murderer is called Ingjald, not Frothi," is taken from the account that appears in the _Hrólfssaga_; this account must therefore be earlier than the corresponding account in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_.

2. As the story about Frothi, Halfdan, etc., in the _Bjarkarímur_ is substantially the same as in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_, it must be derived from the same source as the story in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_. The _Bjarkarímur_ are, therefore, at this point a later composition than the corresponding portion of the _Hrólfssaga_; and this fact affords further corroboration of the idea that the stories in the _rímur_ of Bjarki's slaying the wolf and Hjalti's slaying the bear are later than the _Hrólfssaga's_ account of Bjarki's slaying the winged monster.

3. When the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ says that Hrolf Kraki met Hrani-Odin on the expedition to Sweden, though nothing is said about such a meeting in _Snorri's Edda_, the idea is probably taken from a version of the story essentially as we have it in the _Hrólfssaga_.[185]

4. Though the _Hrólfssaga_ is made up of elements of varying degrees of antiquity and merit, it contains features worthy of more consideration than has generally been accorded them.

5. In discussing the genealogy of the Danish kings in _Beowulf_ and comparing it with that of other documents,[186] it is to be remembered that the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has no independent value as an authority in this connection; its value lies in its recognition of a conflict between the Ingjald lay and the story in the _Hrólfssaga_, and its attempt to harmonize the two.

6. On the whole, as Olrik says, "Hvor værdifuld den islandske _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ end er, den er selvfölgelig ikke på alle punkter at foretrække for enhver anden kilde."[187] When it disagrees with other documents, its statements should be scanned with care.

A little ought to be said about Saxo's treatment of the problem, the solution of which in the _Skj[o.]ldungasaga_ has just been considered. The solution in the saga is based on the recognition of the fact that Frothi as a king who was slain (i.e., by Swerting) and later avenged by his son is irreconcilable with the idea that he slew his brother, whose sons later put Frothi to death and thus avenged their father's murder. Saxo solved the problem by employing two Frothi's,--namely Frothi IV, Ingjald's father, who was slain by Swerting and was avenged by his son, and Frothi V, Ingjald's successor, who slew his brother, Harald (i.e., Halfdan in the _Hrólfssaga_), and later was put to death by Harald's sons.

On the whole, Saxo's story presents something of an attempt to harmonize Danish and Old Norse tradition. The Danish tradition about the Hroar-Helgi group of kings Saxo preserves in his second book. The Old Norse tradition about them he utilizes in his seventh book, at a point where, in the line of Danish kings, it occurs according to the Old Norse conception of the matter.[188] In the latter connection he repeats certain features of the story as it appears in his second book. Ingjald who appears in the sixth book is really the same Ingjald (second book) whose son Agnar is slain by Bjarki; and Helgi (here called Halfdan) takes to sea, just as he does in the second book. All that concerns Hrolf Kraki, Yrsa, Bjarki, etc., Saxo omits from the seventh book; but he gives Halfdan (Helgi) a career in Sweden, something like Helgi's (second book). Halfdan dies, however, without leaving an heir to the Danish throne; and this solves another problem, for thus the necessity of introducing Hrolf Kraki, Helgi's son, again, or some substitute for him, is obviated, and the story of this royal family is brought to an end.

_Conclusion._

We have, therefore, only two versions of the Hroar-Helgi story (Saxo's version and the one in the _Hrólfssaga_), and these have been subjected to a variety of influences and manipulations. The two versions do not, however, always employ the same features in just the same way, as is exemplified in the treatment of the insanity motive; nor have they always retained the same features present in the source of influence, as where the place of concealment of the boys in one instance is a cave and in the other a hollow tree. But the possession of the two versions is valuable in this respect, that they afford a double confirmation of the source of influence, as in the instances just cited and in Frothi's consulting the witch.

It is a great transformation that has taken place in the fortunes of Hrothgar (Hroar) from the time we become acquainted with him as the famous King of the Danes in _Beowulf_ till we finally see him in the _Hrólfssaga_ sitting on the throne of Northumberland in England. But the conception of him that excludes him from the list of ancient kings of Denmark seems to have been shared by Snorri Sturlason; for in Snorri's _Ynglingasaga_, where Frothi, Halfdan, Helgi, Hrolf Kraki, and other early Danish kings are mentioned, and where one would expect something to be said about Hroar also, his name does not occur and there is no reference to him whatever.

The foregoing explanation of how Hroar came to be regarded as King of Northumberland has a bearing on _Beowulf_-criticism. The name of Hroar's wife is given as Ögn. In _Beowulf_, Hrothgar's wife, Wealhtheow, is called a Helming and is supposed to be an English lady. In support of this idea, Sarrazin[189] and, following him, Thomas Arnold[190] have stated that perhaps we have a reminiscence of her nationality in that of Ögn. But, as we have seen, there is no connection between the two women.

Finally, let it be stated that not all has been said about the Hroar-Helgi story that one would like to say. One would like to be able to trace still more in detail the development of the story and account for all the variations between the two versions. Such knowledge is, however, vouchsafed in very few instances. But if what has been said is substantially correct, a little has been added to what was known before about this interesting story.